Roster Talk '13 — Canada 3.0

I think Drouin has done enough to get the 13th forward and MacKinnon has shown he should be in the top 6. That probably means Shinkaruk is the odd man out.

I agree on Drouin, he has shown that he's willing to ramp up his physical game without losing his knack of creating offense and I think that makes him the perfect young 13th forward on this squad. Shinkaruk will likely fall just short but it bodes well for next year's tourny that some youngsters are on the bubble for spots.

I don't think RNH will be the captain. An assistant? Sure.. but I think it makes more sense to have a returning player be captain as opposed to the guy who was in the NHL, simply because he was in the NHL. The WJC is a different beast. The pressure these kids face during the WJC is unlike anything most of them will ever feel in their careers and in Edmonton, I don't think RNH has faced anything as pressure-packed as an elimination game at the WJC.

If only he could have gone on to have a great career like Justin Pogge..

Price made the last save. Won the shootout. There were times that USA had the chance to win the game and despite not being stellar on the other shots, Price found a way to keep Canada alive and never give up the deathblow.

Completely forget that if it wasn't for Price's play on the PK in overtime and it never gets to that point in the first place.

I don't think RNH will be the captain. An assistant? Sure.. but I think it makes more sense to have a returning player be captain as opposed to the guy who was in the NHL, simply because he was in the NHL. The WJC is a different beast. The pressure these kids face during the WJC is unlike anything most of them will ever feel in their careers and in Edmonton, I don't think RNH has faced anything as pressure-packed as an elimination game at the WJC.

That, as well as the fact I'd rather him focus on getting the puck in the back of the net and winning games than focusing on being a leader on the team.

Get him to go out there and play his natural game whether or not it involves him wearing a letter or not. That'll get us the gold.

Invisentin was probably one of the worst goalies we've ever confided in. These kids are so young and despite their talent, it takes a specific type of mental make-up to be so solid in pressure-filled situations at a young age. Even Vasilevski who went high in the 1st round looked incredibly flawed in the game against Canada.

I don't think Subban is that great of a goaltender. I know his pedigree. I've watched him play and while he has tremendous athleticism, I question his mental traits at this point in his career. I don't know if there's a viable alternative to him right now.

Invisentin was probably one of the worst goalies we've ever confided in. These kids are so young and despite their talent, it takes a specific type of mental make-up to be so solid in pressure-filled situations at a young age. Even Vasilevski who went high in the 1st round looked incredibly flawed in the game against Canada.

I don't think Subban is that great of a goaltender. I know his pedigree. I've watched him play and while he has tremendous athleticism, I question his mental traits at this point in his career. I don't know if there's a viable alternative to him right now.

If only he could have gone on to have a great career like Justin Pogge..

Price made the last save. Won the shootout. There were times that USA had the chance to win the game and despite not being stellar on the other shots, Price found a way to keep Canada alive and never give up the deathblow.

Completely forget that if it wasn't for Price's play on the PK in overtime and it never gets to that point in the first place.

Completely forgot about the 5-3 the americans had in ot. Price stood on his head that whole tournament.

We say this every year. (Nothing against Fucale, I like him — but we do say this every year.)

Even our "anointed ones" sometimes struggle.

Fleury didn't lead us to the Gold despite probably being the Canadian WJ goalie who has had the most success in the last decade or so.

Luongo despite standing on his head couldn't lead us to the promised land.

Shows how much of a team game the WJ's really are, rarely can a goalie win you the whole tournament. I think a lot of it has to do with how much farther WJ goalies are from the NHL. Its extremely rare to see a goalie make the jump from Junior/NCAA to the NHL right away. Usually they're in jr for an overage year or the AHL for a couple. Where as a good chunk of the skaters are developed enough to step into the NHL.

Spencer Martin of the Mississauga Steelheads is going to push him, another '95 goalie who is already a top starter in his league. I expected one of Fucale or Martin to get the invite this year for the experience. Really would have been beneficial to bring one along as the third goalie. The odds of actually needing your third goalie to play are slim (knock on wood), so it would have been great to use that extra slot on a younger goalie. Then again it would have also put extra pressure on said goalie to be the #1 next year.

Its too bad that this is always considered to be a 19 year old tournament. I would have liked to see Sean Monahan make the team.

I wonder if the rules could be changed that would enforce that you bring 1-16 year old, 2-17 year olds to the tournament. To see if the competition levels would change throughout each country. It would be pretty interesting.

Gotta love Huberdeau getting the C right after that incident w/ the ref in Saint John.

As I recall, Patrice Cormier did have a bad reputation in the Q but it didn't stop him from getting the "C". Hubderdeau just had a tough game. He lets his game speaks for himself. Stupid reason you got there.

As I recall, Patrice Cormier did have a bad reputation in the Q but it didn't stop him from getting the "C". Hubderdeau just had a tough game. He lets his game speaks for himself. Stupid reason you got there.

I wasn't being serious.

As for Cormier, I think he was pretty well respected. It was just after his stint as captain that he laid that ugly elbow to the head.

Personally... if we're giving it to a returning player, I think I'd go Harrington.

Both he and Huberdeau are captains of their jr. teams so either would make sense. RNH is a tough call... might have to give it to him just because everyone seems to look up to him.

Speaking of past goaltenders, I was extremely confident in Steve Mason during the '08 WJC.. he had that one awful play against Finland, but was otherwise outstanding. Not much since then, though I was confident in Jake Allen.

I've been saying Jenner for captain all along but I think I want to flip my pick to Harrington. Returning player who has been a steadying force in a lot of huge games, going back to his time as an underager with Kingston Voyageurs. Not the flashiest pick, but perhaps the type of hardhat leader this big-name team needs to keep them focused. I also like Jenner wearing a letter for this reason, and I think Murray would have been that type of guy for this team as well.

I've listed four guys who I think are in consideration for the last letter or two, all have been through this before and will be expected to lead the way letter or not.